Difference between human and guinea pig Hageman factors in activation by bacterial proteinases: cleavage site shift due to local amino acid substitutions may determine the activation efficiency of serine proteinase zymogens

Human and guinea pig Hageman factors have been subjected to the action of pseudomonal elastase and serratial E15 proteinase. The pseudomonal elastase cleaved 22-24% of the human molecule at Arg353-Val354, and the remainder at Gly357-Leu358 resulting in the generation of about 20% of potential activity as activated Hageman factor, compared with trypsin activation, while it hydrolyzed Arg340-Ile341 bond in guinea pig molecule and generated about 75% of activity as activated Hageman factor. The serratial proteinase did not hydrolyze the essential cleavage site (Arg353-Val354) of the human zymogen but Gly356-Gly357 (30%) and Gly357-Leu358 (70%) bonds. Both products showed no activity. The guinea pig zymogen, in contrast, was cleaved mostly at Arg340-Ile341 (70%) and less abundantly at Gly344-Leu345 (30%), generating about 85% of the whole potential activity as activated Hageman factor. From the high correspondence between the proportions of activation and of hydrolysis at the essential cleavage site in activation, it was concluded that hydrolysis of the bonds different from the essential bond did not cause activation, even when the spatial separation was only 3 or 4 residues. Considering the amino acid differences between human and guinea pig Hageman factors, -Met351-Thr-Arg-Val-Val-Gly-Gly-Leu-Val-Ala360- and -Leu338-Ser-Arg-Ile-Val-Gly-Gly-Leu-Val-Ala347-, respectively, it was realized that even the minor amino acid substitutions caused the cleavage site shift which resulted in significant differences in activation efficiency of the proteinase zymogens.     

Additives distribution and electrical properties in zinc oxide varistor prepared by a wet chemical method

Cobalt-, praseodymium-added zinc oxide varistor was prepared through a wet chemical method followed by sintering with or without calcination. Changes in grain size, compact density, additives distribution, and voltagecurrent/ capacitance-voltage relations were investigated for the characterization of the samples sintered at temperatures from 1473 to 1573 K without calcination or with calcination at 773 K for 2 h. The electrical properties were compared with nhose of samples prepared by two types of ball mill methods. The wet chemical method provided almost the same additives-distribution profile and less impurities in comparison with the ball grinding method carried out for 10–100 h. The donor concentration and the potential-barrier height for the samples were evaluated by Double Schottky Barrier Model. Addition of small amount of both cobalt and praseodymium in preparation by the wet chemical method was effective for a better nonlinearity relation between voltage and current, which has potential for a smaller sized varistor.     

Plastic deformation in a multifunctional Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr-O alloy

Mechanisms for plastic deformation in the newly developed Ti-24 at. pct (Ta + Nb + V)-(Zr,Hf)-O alloys (Gum Metal) were investigated in relation to their unique properties. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the microstructure after deformation was characterized by highly distorted crystal images, which are accompanied by numerous “giant faults.” Such plastic behavior implies that a large amount of elastic stain energy was stored discretely and hierarchically during cold working. Calculated elastic constants of the Ti-X (Nb,Ta,Mo,V) binary systems predicted that Young’s modulus in 〈001〉 and shear moduli along some directions including slip systems in a bcc crystal were extraordinary small. The low modulus not only well explains the highly distorted microstructure observed in the cold-worked specimens, but also signifies that ideal shear strength of the developed alloys is a very small value, which is close to the practical strength required for plastic deformation in the alloy. This implies that the giant faults observed in the deformed specimen were formed without the aid of dislocation glide.     

Immunohistochemical localization of advanced glycosylation end products in coronary atheroma and cardiac tissue in diabetes mellitus

Advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) accumulate on long-lived extracellular matrix proteins and have been implicated in the micro- and macrovascular complications of diabetes mellitus. Within the arterial wall, AGE-modified proteins increase vascular permeability, inactivate nitric oxide activity, and induce the release of growth-promoting cytokines. Recently developed anti-AGE antibodies were used in an immunohistochemical analysis of coronary arteries obtained from type II diabetic and nondiabetic patients. High levels of AGE reactivity were observed within the atherosclerotic plaque present in vessels from selected patients with diabetes. Considered together with the pathological effects of AGEs on vascular wall homeostasis, these data support the role of advanced glycosylation in the rapidly progressive atherosclerosis associated with diabetes mellitus.     

Direct growth of CdTe on (100), (211), and (111) Si by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

CdTe epilayers were grown directly on (100), (211), and (111) silicon substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The crystallinity and the growth orientation of the CdTe film were dependent on the surface treatment of the Si substrate. The surface treatment consisted of exposure of the Si surface to diethyltelluride (DETe) at temperatures over 600°C prior to CdTe growth. Direct growth of CdTe on (100) Si produced polycrystalline films whereas (lll)B single crystals grew when Si was exposed to DETe prior to CdTe growth. On (211) Si, single crystal films with (133)A orientation was obtained when grown directly; but produced films with (211)A orientation when the Si surface was exposed to DETe. On the other hand, only (lll)A CdTe films were possible on (111) Si, both with and without Te source exposure, although twinning was increased after exposure. The results indicate that the exposure to a Te-source changes the initial growth stage significantly, except for the growth on (111) Si. We propose a model in which a Te atom replaces a Si atom that is bound to two Si atoms.     

Minimum alveolar anesthetic concentrations for airway occlusion in cats: a new concept of minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration-airway occlusion response

The role of ergosterol in yeast stress tolerance, together with heat shock proteins (hsps) and trehalose, was examined in a sterol auxotrophic mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ergosterol levels paralleled viability data, with cells containing higher levels of the sterol exhibiting greater tolerances to heat and ethanol. Although the mutant synthesised hsps and accumulated trehalose upon heat shock to the same levels as the wild-type cells, these parameters did not relate to stress tolerance. These results indicate that the role of ergosterol in stress tolerance is independent of hsps or trehalose.     

Inhalational Anesthetics Inhibit Neuroglioma Cell Proliferation and Migration via miR-138, -210 and -335

Inhalational anesthetics was previously reported to suppress glioma cell malignancy but underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study aims to investigate the effects of sevoflurane and desflurane on glioma cell malignancy changes via microRNA (miRNA) modulation. The cultured H4 cells were exposed to 3.6% sevoflurane or 10.3% desflurane for 2 h. The miR-138, -210 and -335 expression were determined with qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation and migration were assessed with wound healing assay, Ki67 staining and cell count kit 8 (CCK8) assay with/without miR-138/-210/-335 inhibitor transfections. The miRNA downstream proteins, hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), were also determined with immunofluorescent staining. Sevoflurane and desflurane exposure to glioma cells inhibited their proliferation and migration. Sevoflurane exposure increased miR-210 expression whereas desflurane exposure upregulated both miR-138 and miR-335 expressions. The administration of inhibitor of miR-138, -210 or -335 inhibited the suppressing effects of sevoflurane or desflurane on cell proliferation and migration, in line with the HIF-1α and MMP9 expression changes. These data indicated that inhalational anesthetics, sevoflurane and desflurane, inhibited glioma cell malignancy via miRNAs upregulation and their downstream effectors, HIF-1α and MMP9, downregulation. The implication of the current study warrants further study.     

Structural significance of the alkyl substituent at the C-4 of (+)-trans-verbenyl acetate in sex pheromonal activity of the American cockroach

The significance of the alkyl group at the C-4 of (+)-trans-verbenyl acetate, which is the sex pheromone mimic of the American cockroach, was investigated. Seven alcohols possessing an ethyl, propyl, or dimethyl group at this position of the 6,6-dimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]heptane skeleton were synthesized and evaluated by behavioral assay. All of the alcohols were inactive, while three of four acetates of the 2-alcohols induced sexual behavior in male cockroaches at the 0.02 or 0.5 mg dosage level, either of which is many orders of magnitude higher than the threshold level of the natural sex pheromones (10^–8 mg). Among the acetates, the compounds with a methyl group or an -oriented ethyl group at C-4 showed the highest activity. The results are discussed in terms of spatial requirements of the molecules for interactions with the receptor.Studies on the sex pheromone mimic of the American cockroach, (+)-trans-verbenyl acetate. Part VIII. For Part VII, seeComp. Biochem. Physiol.,70A: 229–234 (1981).     

Studies on relationship between activity and electron density on carbonyl oxygen in sex pheromone mimics of the American cockroach,part XI

From the relationship between structures of the 2-substituents of verbanyl analogs and their sex pheromone activities to the American cockroach, electron density of the carbonyl oxygen atom in the substituent, as estimated by the [¹⁷O]NMR chemical shift, was estimated to be an important factor which influenced the activity, in addition to length of the substituent and the position of the carbonyl group. (+)-Verbanyl methylcarbonate (XX), possessing the highest electron density on the carbonyl oxygen atom, showed the strongest activity among the analogs.For Part X, see Manabe et al., 1983. J. Chem. Ecol. 9:533–549.     

Photocatalytic microreactor study using TiO2-coated porous ceramics

Two kinds of porous ceramic disks, having through-holes with diameters of 0.1 and 0.05 mm, were coated with TiO₂ using two different starting solutions: titanyl(IV)acetylacetonate and a commercial titania sol (STS-01). The morphology of these porous ceramics before and after TiO₂ coating was observed by SEM. The TiO₂-coated porous ceramics were examined as honeycomb photocatalytic microreactors. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated using the decomposition of methylene blue solution for radiation angles of 0° and 10° with respect to the pore axis. The highest photocatalytic activity was obtained for the porous ceramic having the pore diameter of 0.1 mm, coated with titanyl(IV)acetylacetonate and irradiated with a light angle of 0° with respect to the pore axis.